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Mayasuke Nagare Sound of Stars, 1966 black granite 13 1/2 x 13 in. 'Tis where men go to seek for stone, the quarry, A hallowed place where blessings from the gods Enhance a mason's task. Murmuring prayers, they know full well The pain endured as stone is rent from Mother Earth.1 Masayuki Nagare, excerpt from "Eulogy to Stone" Masayuki Nagare's approach to sculpture reflects a reverence for nature that he assimilated while practicing Shinto and Zen Buddhism. As a teenager, he lived in several temples in Kyoto where he studied the patterns of rocks, plants and water created by traditional landscape artists. Over the course of a long career, Nagare himself designed many gardens where his sculptures activate and integrate spaces. The artist's keen sense of design was probably one of the factors that attracted architects like Marcel Breuer, Philip Johnson, Eero Saarinen and Minoru Yamasaki as friends. Beginning in the 1960s, Nagare received a steady stream of commissions to create monumental sculptures for public plazas, including Cloud Fortress (1969-75) for the World Trade Center in New York City. Although Nagare has earned a reputation for heroic sculptures, he is just as comfortable creating smaller pieces like the one owned by the Pattons. He believes every stone embodies a spirit to be revealed by the artist. In Sound of Stars, an early work, Nagare expresses the harmony of nature through the union of opposing elements and forces. Smooth, curving forms, representing the feminine aspect of life, contrast with roughly hewn surfaces that suggest a masculine counterpart. The lyrical title of the sculpture suggests a Zen koan, a phrase that initially appears paradoxical, but ultimately becomes a source of wisdom through meditation. Both the style and masterful carving of Nagare's work are inspired by his deeply-rooted appreciation and respect for the traditional Japanese craft traditions that led him to apprentice with a master sword maker from 1941-42. The elegant lines defining sculptures like Sound of Stars are ultimately abstracted from subtle sword curves called sori. The Patton's sculpture was created during a flourish of creativity fueled by major museum and corporate commissions. It was followed by a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art and the award of honorary citizenship by Kagawa Prefecture in 1967. Since the 1970s, the artist has continued to create small sculptures, site-specific urban installations and expansive, sculpture parks. One of his most beautiful and complex projects is Hamaritsurin Garden (1991) in Seto Ohashi Commemorative Park, Kagawa Prefecture. Here granite sculptures are configured to form a waterfall, walls and passageways that lead to a garden and pavilion designed by the artist to reflect the traditional Zen approach to nature. In all of his works, Nagare fuses ancient Japanese style and philosophy with contemporary nuances to express both timelessness and the flow of life. Barbara Matilsky |